The Salvation Army honors those 'Doing the Most Good' in Metro Detroit

The Salvation Army of Metro Detroit recognized its most outstanding community partners at its annual Metropolitan Detroit Advisory Board Civic Awards Dinner, held Oct. 24 at 42 Degrees North inside the Detroit Marriott Hotel at the GM Renaissance Center.

The Salvation Army honored people, organizations and businesses in metro Detroit with its "Doing the Most Good" awards.

Bill Emerson, CEO of Quicken Loans, received The Salvation Army's highest honor, the William Booth Award. Emerson, who has served as Honorary Red Kettle Campaign Corporate Chairman since 2011, was recognized for leading by example in encouraging Quicken Loans team members to ring bells at the iconic red kettles, assist families at Christmas toy shops, serve meals at shelters and lend a hand on Bed & Bread truck routes. At Emerson's direction, Quicken Loans, which has been a major Red Kettle Campaign sponsor since 2010, has also been instrumental over the years in raising more than $125,000 in matching challenge donations during the year-end campaign.

Emerson will continue serving The Salvation Army as the 2012 honorary Red Kettle Campaign Corporate Chairman.

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The William Booth Award is named after the nonprofit's founder. Recipients are chosen for their dedication to The Salvation Army's goal of service; outstanding service to the community through donation of time, expertise and energy; outstanding humanitarian effort within the community and substantial contributions to the work of The Salvation Army in offering time, talent and resources.

The Reverend John Talk, of Christ Church Detroit, accepted the nonprofit's Others Award. The church, on East Jefferson in Detroit, collaborated with The Salvation Army to open a Homeless Drop-in Center in May. The drop-in center fills a unique need for homeless Detroiters in that it is open during the week, a time when traditional shelters are closed.

The center provides nutritious meals and warmth and cooling to those in need. On-site case workers provide access to The Salvation Army's broad range of social services, facilitating more than 13,000 requests in less than six months of operation.

The Salvation Army also honored four organizations with Doing the Most Good Awards: United States Postal Service, WJBK / Fox 2, Detroit Media Partnership and WXYZ TV.